no. 47 spring 2014 issn 1474-3531 £2
TRANSCRIPT
No. 47 Spring 2014 ISSN 1474-3531 £2.00
2 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Contributions for the Autumn 2014 issue of Ayrshire Notes, including
information about the activities of member Societies, should be sent before the end of July 2014, to
Rob Close, 1 Craigbrae Cottages, Drongan AYR KA6 7EN, tel. 01292
590273 (email: [email protected]) or Gary Torbett, 165 Bank Street, IRVINE KA12 0NH.
The print order may be increased to provide additional copies of Ayrshire Notes for members of local societies at cost price by arrangement before
publication with David Courtney McClure, 7 Park Circus, AYR KA7 2DJ,
tel. 01292 262248.
AYRSHIRE NOTES is published in Ayr by
AYRSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL & NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY in association with
AYRSHIRE FEDERATION OF HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
and KILMARNOCK & DISTRICT HISTORY GROUP
AYRSHIRE NOTES, 47, 2014, ISSN 1474-3531 © 2014. The copyright of the articles belongs to the individual authors.
Further information about the AANHS and KDHG and their meetings and publications will be found on their websites: www.aanhs.org.uk and
www.kilmarnockhistory.co.uk
AANHS President Ian Gardner
AANHS Secretary Sheena Andrew, 17 Bellrock Avenue, PRESTWICK KA9 1SQ. 01292 479077
AFHS Chairman Dr Neil Dickson AFHS Secretary Pamela McIntyre, 5 Eglinton Terrace, AYR KA7
1JJ. 0192 280080
KDHG President Stuart J. Wilson
KDHG Secretary Edith Shedden, Bowfield Cottage, Priestland,
DARVEL KA17 0LP
Cover illustration
Kilmarnock War Memorial: The Victor by David McGill. (1926-27).
(Rob Close)
3 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Contents
Kilmarnock War Memorial, by Ola Smith 4
The Sad Case of Hugh Ross, Vintner in Ballantrae, by Jane Jamieson 22
From Dalry to the Faeroes: William Gibson Sloan, by Óli Jacobsen 27
Ayrshire Federation of Historical Societies 36
Another Millport/Great Barrier Reef Expedition (1928-1929)
Link, by Geoff Moore 37
Rob’s Book Club 39
Diary of Meetings of Historical Societies 40
William Gibson Sloan (1838 - 1913)
Sue McClure died unexpectedly in December 2013. This edition of
Ayrshire Notes has been assembled without David’s essential technical
input and careful proofing. It shows, especially in my grappling with illustrations and the diary. Our thoughts, of course, are with David at this
difficult time. RC
4 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Kilmarnock War Memorial
By Ola Smith
War memorials were erected all across Britain and
the rest of Europe after 1918 in memory of those who died
during the Great War 1914-1918. Very few towns were
left unscathed during the war, Kilmarnock included and
once it ended people realised there were many wives,
parents, siblings and children who were left without a
husband, son, brother and father. To mediate the grief
many towns arranged to construct a town war memorial,
not only in honour of those who gave their lives but as a
place for family members and friends to visit and pay their
respects.1 Memorials are different in every town. Some
have a memorial garden many a monument some spent
very little money on their memorial and instead gave
money to the local school or charity. Every town is
different but the most important part of a memorial was
that bereaved families had a place to contemplate their loss,
escape from their thoughts and channel their grief.2
It was not until the signing of the Treaty of
Versailles on June 1919 that war was officially declared
over and all the troops gradually came home. For this
occasion, there was a peace parade in July in towns all over
Britain. Every town wanted to memorialise their dead
soldiers, and many organisations, such as the National
Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and
Soldiers, were set up to help towns find architects and
stonemasons. Kilmarnock was one of the later towns in
Scotland to build a war memorial in homage to the men of
the town who died during the Great War. While most were
erected before 1923, Kilmarnock’s was not unveiled until
1 Winter, Jay, Sites of Memory Sites of Mourning The Great War
in European cultural history, (Cambridge, 1995), p 79 2 Winter, Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning, p 79
5 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
21st May 1927, almost ten years after the Armistice was
signed.
Peace was both a time of celebration and sadness
for the people of Kilmarnock. As in the whole of Britain,
many households in Kilmarnock were affected by the war’s
casualty list: there are nearly 900 names on the war
memorial. Even if a family had not suffered a direct loss, it
would be likely that they would know a family who had.
Very quickly after the armistice, the town council sprang
into action to organise an appropriate celebration for the
people of the town. Within two days, on the evening of
Wednesday 13th
November 1918, a ‘Special Committee’
headed by ex-Bailie Wilson hosted a concert in the
Agricultural Hall to ‘rejoice the armistice’.1 Many
organisations performed for the crowd including the Burgh
Band, Glasgow and South-Western Male Vocal Choir, a
dance troupe, the Railway Choir, while the Territorial Pipe
Band finished the evening with the National Anthem.
As early as December 1918, the council was
discussing a fitting way to memorialise the dead soldiers of
Kilmarnock. The Provost felt it the ‘duty of the council to
prepare something as a memorial at as early a date as
possible’.2 The council thought Kilmarnock was in need of
a new Town Hall, and agreed it was appropriate to open a
town hall with a memorial to the fallen somewhere in or on
the building.
King George V declared a ‘Peace Day’; the date
was set for July 1919, nearly a month after the signing of
the Treaty of Versailles. A committee, one separate from
the War Memorial Committee, was set up in April of 1919
to organise Peace Day celebrations. The preparations
coincided with the celebrations throughout the whole of
Britain. In London, the parade marched past the wooden
cenotaph and was the focus of much commemoration and
1 Kilmarnock Standard [KS], 16th November 1918 2 Kilmarnock Town Council Minutes [KTCM], December 1918
6 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
celebration.1 The cenotaph induced a sense of ‘collective
bereavement’ and is thought to have brought Britain closer
together. In Kilmarnock, the celebrations included a
Drumhead Service, a united service in the Laigh Kirk and a
Peace Tree planted in the Howard Park, followed by a
parade.2
Meanwhile, in regards to the war memorial, an
article in 1919 in the Standard telling readers that a
meeting would be held in the following week beginning
January 13th
, to discuss plans for a War Memorial
Committee.3 The meeting, which was open to all, agreed
that the platform be classed as the committee. However, as
the war memorial was not unveiled until 1927, it is
inevitable that the war memorial committee, as part of the
council, would change as the various elections took place.
This can be seen in 1924 when a War Memorial Committee
was again organised.
The organisation of Kilmarnock’s war memorial
was a particularly slow process, more so than for many
other towns. Although there was talk of a memorial in
1918 and 1919 in Kilmarnock Town Council minutes and
the Standard, there was not much action towards building
one in the early 1920s. 1920 saw a fund set up by the
Royal Scots Fusiliers, the local regiment, in an attempt to
help many of the people affected by the Great War.4 They
raised money to help the widows of servicemen, disabled
soldiers unable to find work on return to their hometown, to
supplement any pensions and to pay the charges that might
occur in helping this particular group of people.5
Kilmarnock Infirmary had the intention of extending its
premises and raised sufficient money to do so through
1 Winter, Jay, Sites of Memory Sites of Mourning, p 103 2 KS, 26th July 1919 3 KS, 11th January 1919 4 KS, 6th March 1920 5 ibid
7 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
public subscription.1 However, whilst this was ongoing,
Kilmarnock town council was debating whether or not to
have the centrally placed Corn Exchange building in
Kilmarnock as part of its war memorial. The Provost
James Smith told the council that the building’s future was
unknown but it was ‘fraught with much interest to the
community’ as it was a prominent feature in Kilmarnock.2
For reasons never specified in council minutes or the local
paper however, the building did not become the town’s war
memorial. Whilst a war memorial was not completed at
this time, no economic issues were discussed in the Town
Council Meeting, which suggests that the council had the
potential to create a memorial, but for reasons unsaid, they
chose not to.
The Kilmarnock Standard showed much interest in
the progress of the war memorial throughout the years
between 1918 and the unveiling in 1927, and in 1920, after
two lesser war memorials had been unveiled, the writer of
the weekly article ‘Local Echoes’ expressed his opinion on
the matter. The anonymous writer wrote of many churches
and schools having a war memorial and expressed the
opinion that he sees no better place to have a memorial to
the dead soldiers of a community than in the local school;
future generations would pass through the halls of the
school and be reminded of the supreme sacrifice made by
former pupils. However, Kilmarnock’s local Higher Grade
School, Kilmarnock Academy, did not have a memorial at
this point.3
In November 1920 Bailie Thomson expressed his
disappointment at the Town Council Meeting that
Kilmarnock had done nothing to organise a memorial. He
described it as ‘nothing short of a shame’,4 to which Mr
Jones asked if money for a town hall were to be raised.
1 KS 27th March 1920 2 KS, 17th April 1920 3 KS, 3rd July 1920 4 KTCM, November 1920
8 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
The Provost replied, ‘That was the intention’, and the
matter was closed with the point being made that a
memorial and a town hall were in much need and if money
were to be raised it should be used with these intentions in
mind.1 However, as of yet, as can be seen from the local
papers, no subscriptions or intention to raise subscriptions
for a memorial were made.
It could be argued that the town council’s
hesitation to create a war memorial was for the best as 1921
brought mass unemployment throughout Britain.
Kilmarnock undoubtedly suffered as much as the rest of the
country as a result of ‘one of the worst depressions in
history’.2 In 1921, 12.2% of the nation was unemployed,
which was the highest percentage from 1921 to 1930, when
the number rose from 8% in 1929 to 12.3%. These figures
show the ‘aggregate unemployment rate on an insured and
on a working population basis’.3 In Kilmarnock, many
industries continued to operate, including carpet-making,
shoe-making and repairs, locomotive repair and
construction, and the bottling of Johnnie Walker whisky.4
However, despite this evidence, it remains the case from
reliable sources such as Kilmarnock Town Council Minutes
and the Kilmarnock Standard that there was substantial
unemployment in Kilmarnock, to the extent that a special
committee was set up by the council to find ways of
gaining employment for residents out of work.5
Unemployment in Kilmarnock resulted from an over-
supply of manpower at the same time as a reduced
industrial base.
1 KTCM, November 1920 2 Aldcroft, Derek, The Inter-War Economy: Britain 1919-1939,
(London, 1970), p 37 3 Garside, W.R., British Unemployment 1919-1939,
(Birmingham, 1990), p 5 4 Mackay, James A., Kilmarnock, pp 53-61 5 KTCM, September 1921
9 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Probably in consequence of this depression, from
the end of 1920 to the middle of 1923, plans for a war
memorial in Kilmarnock seemed to disappear. The local
paper does not detail any plans for a memorial, and the lack
of mention of a memorial in the town council minutes
suggests that parts of the town were in such distress that it
was considered inappropriate to attempt to raise money by
public subscription. In June 1921, Kilmarnock set up the
‘Provost’s Distress Fund’, to help those in need of extra
help in their time of need. By November 1924, the Distress
Fund had raised £8000, which, is the equivalent of
approximately £400,000 in 2014.1 When the Fund was
established, the Provost asked the council for a year or
perhaps more depending on the improvement of
circumstances in the town, where there would be no
mention or planning of a town war memorial.2 He felt at
the time that the situation of many of Kilmarnock’s poorest
inhabitants was a greater priority than the erection of a
memorial, which could be done at a later date. This would
explain the lack of memorial-related news in the Standard
and in the town council minutes.
In March 1923 a war memorial was set up in
Kilmarnock Academy, to remember the 142 former pupils
and teachers3 of the school who died in the Great War. The
memorial takes the form of a mural built of Carrara marble,
and of bronze.4 The unveiling of the memorial in
Kilmarnock Academy is recorded in a special publication
of the bi-annual school magazine The Gold Berry, in which
there is a detailed outline of the unveiling ceremony, plus a
1 This is Money, ‘Historic Inflation Calculator’,
<http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-
1633409/Historic-inflation-calculator-value-money-changed-
1900.html> [accessed 12th November 2012] 2 KS, 21st December 1921 3 The Gold Berry, March 1923 4 ibid
10 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
short biography of every name on the memorial.1 Presiding
was Dr. Clark, rector of the Academy from 1907-1926.2 In
his speech, Dr Clark told the audience that they had first
thought a playing field would be a ‘most fitting tribute to
the Old Boys who had laid down their lives in “playing the
Game”.’3 Eventually, they had all come to the decision that
what they wanted was a visible record within the walls of
the Academy of ‘their gratitude and pride’ in those who
had not returned from the war. The Reverend James
Hamilton unveiled the memorial by pulling the cord that let
the Union Jack loose and accompanied it with the words,
‘This Memorial is now dedicated to the glory of God and to
the ever blessed memory of the masters and pupils of this
school who gave their lives in the Great War.’ After
which, the ‘long sad catalogue of the names of the fallen
was impressively read by Mr Robert Young’.4 For both the
Kilmarnock Academy war memorial and the later
Kilmarnock Town War Memorial, classical models were
chosen which partly could reflect the education given at the
time, with Greek and Latin featuring highly in the
curriculum. However, it also evokes the glory that was
associated with the Classical world and the notion that it
reflected a heroic past and the glorification of war. Today,
we tend to be more sceptical about war, but in the early 20th
century, the fallen were often seen as martyrs, therefore it is
understandable that towns would both celebrate their
townspeople and also mourn them in neo-classical
memorials.
1Kilmarnock Academy, ‘Former Pupils’ Memorial’,
<http://www.kilmarnockacademy.co.uk/
formerpupilsww1memorial.htm> [accessed 19th March 2013] 2 Kilmarnock Academy, ‘The New Academy’,
<http://www.kilmarnockacademy.co.uk/
historythenewacademy.htm> [accessed 14th January 2013] 3 The Gold Berry, March 1923, p 5 4 ibid, p 6
11 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Perhaps impetus had been given to the town’s
plans, for during the October town council meeting in
Kilmarnock in 1923, it was agreed that there should be no
further delay on the war memorial and that the council
should “co-opt a number of ratepayers outwith the Town
Council and without further delay proceed to the erection
of a memorial worthy of our fallen heroes”.1
This seems to be a step in the right direction for
the town council of Kilmarnock, and possibly one due to
the fact that many of the other towns in Ayrshire had
already organised and unveiled their respective war
memorials. They all agreed that a war memorial would
come in good time, and would be worthy of the town when
it was built.
Once the council set up a committee, and decided
to go ahead with the memorial, decisions were made very
quickly. Within a year or so of deciding to go ahead with
the memorial, the location, form of the building and
subscriptions towards the memorial were all decided upon
and organised.
In March 1924, a Letter to the Editor was
published signed by ‘A Parent of One of the Fallen’2 noting
that Ayr’s war memorial was to be unveiled, and if Ayr
could arrange one, then there should be no reason for
Kilmarnock not to have one. A reply was given in next
issue by a man from Ayr who tells the ‘Parent of One of the
Fallen’ “not to lose heart” with regards to the erection of a
war memorial, and that if the council were not willing to
start the planning process then he suggests the parent
himself should start the planning of the memorial.3 He
offers some tips to the writer of the letter, as he had been
part of the planning process for Ayr War Memorial.4 He
suggests the writer organises a public meeting and chooses
1 KTCM, October 1923 2 KS, 29th March 1924 3 KS, 5th April 1924 4 ibid
12 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
a memorial committee, then he proposes the first port of
call should be to decide on a location for the memorial.1
This period was still under the Provost’s
moratorium of a year and the writer of the letter did admit
this, however, he argued that there was distress in every
town, and that many other towns and villages indeed
created a war memorial to their fallen soldiers despite the
unemployment and related issues throughout most of
Scotland. The writer went on to argue that if it was delayed
any further then it would take so long to build that he and
many other parents of the fallen would no longer be alive to
see the memorial unveiled. That being the case, the
council’s reluctance to embark on building a war memorial
during the period 1923-24 is surprising as it is quite clear
from subscriptions that the public and businesses alike
were quite willing to donate their money to a worthwhile
cause; and so it can be argued that the council’s
unwillingness to ask for more money, due to a ‘harsh
winter’ was a more significant factor in the delay than the
public’s inability to contribute.2
The unveiling of a new bandstand in the Howard
Park in 1924 spurred the ex-servicemen of the town to meet
up in November 1924 and decide unanimously that a war
memorial should be erected in memory of their fallen
comrades.3 The committee made an application to meet
with the council to discuss the war memorial; however, the
council declined their request and said they would be
prepared to receive their deputation at December’s town
council meeting.4 In the November town council meeting
the council agreed that they had raised £8000 towards the
Provost’s Distress Fund and they had done a lot of good for
the town but the time had come to start the war memorial
process.
1 KS, 5th April 1924 2 ibid 3 KS, 15th November 1924 4 ibid
13 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Within a week of deciding to go ahead with plans
for the memorial, the council’s war memorial committee
had decided on a location for the war memorial, and had
agreed that a list of subscriptions should be drawn up for
house-to-house collections. The council agreed
unanimously on a plot of land on Dick Road in
Kilmarnock. The area is one of the most affluent in the
town, surrounded by expensive sandstone houses on
London Road, and other important buildings including the
Dick Institute and Kilmarnock Academy.
The Finance Sub-Committee issued an official
appeal to the public detailing the committee’s intention to
build a memorial ‘to preserve the memory of those who
lost their lives in the Great War.’1 It is an appeal to ‘all
sections of the community’ and makes the point that it does
not matter how much or little one has to contribute, every
penny counts, ‘from the widow’s mite upwards’.2 The
ambience surrounding the war memorial subscription
collection was more sombre than the Provost’s Distress
Fund collection. With the latter, the council wanted to
encourage people to give by organising events, but with the
war memorial fund they expected people to give money
even with no personal gain involved.3 The Kilmarnock
Standard strongly advised the residents of Kilmarnock to
give generously and freely to the cause, and deemed it
‘unseemly’ that the money should be raised by means of
whist drives and sales of work, as it should not be money
given for material gain.4 The Kilmarnock Standard was
clearly very much behind the council as they made it very
clear that the residents of Kilmarnock would only have one
chance to donate to the war memorial fund, and once the
memorial had been built there would not be another way
for them to do their part for the dead soldiers of their town.
1 KS, 15th November 1924 2 ibid 3 KS, 7th March 1925 4 ibid
14 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
The war memorial committee, through house-to-
house collections with the help of ward councillors and ex-
servicemen, gathered subscriptions towards the war
memorial. Every household was expected to donate, as a
household that had not been affected by the First World
War in one way or another was very much the exception.
Therefore, the committee had expected the raising of
subscriptions to be very successful and so it was, as they
managed to raise enough money to build the extravagant
memorial to the fallen soldiers of Kilmarnock.
Subscriptions towards the war memorial were
abundant and generous in many wards. Records of
subscriptions were published in the Kilmarnock Standard,
enabling us to analyse to a certain extent the comparative
generosity of the households and the wards. Subscriptions
towards the war memorial under five shillings were not
recorded by name of individual householder, but were
grouped together by ward and the total amount shown, so it
is impossible to tell the exact numbers of subscriptions
collected.
The ward that gathered the least amount of money
was Ward VIII, (Riccarton).1 The people of Riccarton
were very reluctant to donate money towards the war
memorial as they were the furthest out of Kilmarnock and
they felt disassociated from the whole organisation. There
were rumours circulating at the time that the Riccarton
Ward was expected to donate towards the war memorial,
but the names of their fallen would not be included in the
memorial. It became such an issue that a statement was
released in the local newspaper to refute these rumours.2
However, it does seem to still have had an effect on the
generosity of the area, as it is the ward that donated the
least amount of money. It may be that fewer people meant
fewer donations and less money, but since the Riccarton
average is roughly half of that of the whole of Kilmarnock,
1 KS, 7th March 1925 2 KS, 25th April 1925
15 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
it clearly can be seen that the rumours circulating about
Riccarton’s exclusion in the memorial corroborates their
reluctance to donate towards Kilmarnock War Memorial
despite assurances to the contrary.
Further to the donations gathered by house-to-
house collections, donations were also made from
businesses and prominent people in the town. Many
families in Kilmarnock, particularly the more wealthy and
important families gave very generously and were
published in the newspaper as separate from the house-to-
house collections because they donated directly to John
Haggo, Town Chamberlain.
Public subscriptions were the foundation of the
war memorial and the very reason it stands today. The
council, the Kilmarnock Standard, and ex-servicemen all
made it extremely clear to the people of Kilmarnock that
there would not be a second chance to make their mark in
regards to honouring the dead soldiers of the town. The
council aimed to raise around £5000 to pay for the war
memorial, from the evidence that can be taken from the
Kilmarnock Standard it seems they raised approximately
£4,200, which while less than their original planned
amount, is still a feat considering it was completely public
money and during a time in which it might have been
difficult for people to find money to spare.
At the end of March 1925, the first drawing of the
proposed war memorial was published in the Kilmarnock
Standard, showing the extravagant temple made of blonde
sandstone that was to become the finished article.
However, in February 1925, there were two Letters to the
Editor in which both argued that there was no need for such
an extravagant monument and instead perhaps the money
collected should be donated to the Infirmary or something
of use and a small plaque detailing what the real monument
to the fallen was should be erected somewhere on the
building.
By the end of 1925, the impression was given by
the local newspapers that the planning and the
subscriptions for the war memorial were very much
16 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
finished, and the planned unveiling had been for late 1925,
or early 1926,1 however, for reasons not stated in any
primary sources consulted, the war memorial took longer to
finish than had been anticipated. In 1926, there is not much
mention of the war memorial throughout the whole year.
One very important reference in the Kilmarnock Standard
was in April 1926, and was an invitation to readers to give
as much information about the fallen to the council as was
possible. The reason for this was that, whilst there were
different pieces of information about the soldiers, the only
way to get a full account of each soldier was for the
families to come forward.2 The newspaper printed a list of
all the names the council had on record as having been
killed in the war alongside their regiment and rank.
There is only a smattering of material during this
time, the reason for this is unknown. Only suggestions can
be made, perhaps there was no new information to publish,
and the builders were getting on with their work quietly;
however there appears to be anecdotal evidence of disputes
and difficulties in completing the memorial. The rumour
was that there was no money left for the sculptor as the
council had spent all their money on the temple and bronze
panels and the committee had asked the sculptor, David
McGill, to lower his price or they would have to go with a
cheaper sculptor. Whilst this rumour was never
acknowledged in any of the primary sources consulted, the
final sculpture was in fact gifted to the town by the sculptor
to go inside the war memorial. Whilst there is no way to
confirm the theory, it is possible that the committee ran out
of money building the memorial and so the sculpture was a
gift from David McGill to complete the monument to the
fallen soldiers of Kilmarnock.
In May 1927, nearly ten years after the First
World War had ended Kilmarnock finally unveiled its town
war memorial. The war memorial was described in the
1 KS, 28th May 1927 2 KS, 17th April 1926
17 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Standard as being ‘unique in character’ and would ‘rank as
one of the most dignified and impressive memorials in the
country’. The memorial is most certainly different in
comparison with many other towns in Ayrshire. The most
common choice of war memorial in Ayrshire was the
obelisk, which had the information of the fallen on the
base. Kilmarnock’s war memorial was certainly unique.
The memorial is in the form of a blonde sandstone
temple of ‘commanding proportions’, with Grecian Ionic
columns and marble floors inside.1 The interior is simple:
the bronze figure of ‘The Victor’ bowing his head in
sadness at the loss of life inside the temple and the names
of the fallen men of Kilmarnock on bronze panels on the
walls of the inside. It is important to note that the names of
the men are all in alphabetical order, and whilst the
Kilmarnock Standard had attempted to gather full
information from the people of Kilmarnock about the fallen
soldiers, it was decided not to reveal their rank on the
memorial as ‘a sacrificial death has raised all to the level of
martyrs and heroes’.2
David McGill gifted the sculpture to Kilmarnock
War Memorial in 1927. It is unknown why the sculpture
was gifted and not paid for, perhaps it was gifted as McGill
was from the local area and felt a personal connection with
the town of Kilmarnock, as he came from Maybole.
Another hypothesis could be that the council did in fact run
out of money, and the sculpture was donated to the war
memorial to complete the building. Either way, it was a
kind deed done by sculptor possibly because the war
memorial was an unselfish act of memorialisation for the
men who sacrificed their lives for their country. Besides
the names of the dead soldiers on the wall; ‘The Victor’ is
the key piece that completes the poignancy of the
memorial.
1 KS, 17th April 1926 2 KS, 28th May 1927
18 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
The war memorial was unveiled on the 21st May
1927, in front of a 10,000 strong crowd. The writer of the
article details the unveiling, describing the crowd as a
mixture of rich and honoured and of humble estate. He
reported that the social status of the people at the war
memorial unveiling did not matter at this point in time, ‘all
barriers were down during that day’.
From the 4/5th
Royal Scots Fusilier Drill Hall on
Titchfield Street at the bottom of the town centre, ex-
servicemen and the Territorial Army paraded through town
to the area in front of the Dick Institute, marching to the
unveiling of the memorial.1 They were accompanied by
300 ex-servicemen about whom the writer of the article on
the unveiling reports ‘no distinction was seen between the
officers and men, on this day they marched shoulder to
shoulder together’.2 Since the war had been over for nearly
ten years, it could be argued for the most part, the ex-
servicemen would have been back in civilian life and the
mixture of officers and men indicates that they were no
longer ruled by military discipline. It was noted the spirit
that permeated from the parade was similar to that of the
war, which, ‘alone made tolerable the life of the trenches’.3
Even though they were not expected to march in military
discipline, the veterans conducted themselves in a way that
was a credit to their Army training. Upon reaching the
memorial, the Territorial Army and ex-servicemen formed
three sides of a square around the relatives’ enclosure.
The language used by the writer of the article in
the Kilmarnock Standard is extremely emotive which could
be due to a number of reasons. Firstly, it was a long-
awaited, emotional day for many relatives and friends of
the fallen. For this reason, the writer of the article wanted
to express the atmosphere of the day onto the page for
readers who might not have been able to attend. Secondly,
1 KS, 28th May 1927 2 ibid
3 ibid
19 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
it may have been to bring the classes of Kilmarnock
together. All classes in the town felt grief for the ones they
had lost; the loss of a loved one was not easier if one had a
better occupation or lifestyle.
‘The Last Post’, ‘the saddest of all earthly music’
was sounded and the Territorials stood with their arms
presented, the ex-servicemen stood to attention, and
ordinary civilians bowed their heads. After ‘The Last
Post’, “Flowers of the Forest’ was played and many in the
audience shed a tear for ‘broken-hearted, wild regrets for
the might-have-been’.1 ‘Reveille’ and ‘Death is not the
End’ were played after and according to the writer, they
seemed to say: “when ‘The Last Post’ has been played, and
all the day’s troubles have been wiped out in sleep … and
for the living there is still the day, and life has to be lived
and the world’s work has to be done.”’2 The language used
emphasises the tragedy of the four years of war and the
heartbreak that was left for families in Britain as a result.
Bailie Orr introduced Sir Hugh M. Trenchard after
the ‘The Last Post’ and ‘Flowers of the Forest’. In his
address at the unveiling, Trenchard described it as an
honour that he was asked to unveil the memorial, that the
town should be proud, as over 850 names on the memorial
was a record for the burgh of Kilmarnock to be proud of.
He made a direct statement towards the relatives of the
dead soldiers, assuring them that although they may have
felt sad memories on the day that the war memorial was
unveiled, they should also have felt proud that their ‘kith
and kin’ laid down their lives for their country and for
freedom.3 Furthermore, the war memorial would be a
reminder of what the men of Kilmarnock sacrificed during
a ‘great crisis in our national history.’4
1 KS, 28th May 1927 2 ibid 3 ibid 4 ibid
20 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
The memorial was then handed to the custody of
the Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council of Kilmarnock
by Sir Alexander Walker in the name of the War Memorial
Committee and David McGill, ‘the generous donor of the
bronze figure’, with ‘the assured faith on our part that it
will be guarded by them as a sacred trust, now, henceforth,
and for ever.’1 Bailie Orr’s speech in accepting the war
memorial to the care of the council describes its purpose as,
‘a shrine where the parents, relatives and friends of those
whose names are inscribed therein may pay homage to their
glorious dead.’ The singing of ‘The strife is o’er, the battle
done’, the National Anthem and the benediction by
Reverend Joseph Hibbs of Princes Street U.F. Church
finished off the unveiling ceremony.2 It was one of the few
occasions in the town, mentioned in the Kilmarnock
Standard where most of the churches in the town gathered
together to pay tribute in the ceremony.
After the unveiling ceremony, Sir Hugh
Trenchard, Bailie Orr and representatives from different
regiments, ex-servicemen organisations and individuals all
laid wreathes in the war memorial. Queues of people
waited their turn to inspect inside the war memorial, and
there were queues up until the doors closed at sundown.
‘Judging from many comments heard, the citizens of
Kilmarnock have deep-seated feelings of pride and
satisfaction in the character of the War Memorial they have
erected. They have good reason to be proud.’3
In conclusion, we can see that many issues were
overcome during period 1918 to 1927 in order to ensure
that Kilmarnock had a proper and appropriate memorial.
The people of Kilmarnock suffered greatly during the war
and after. Given the obvious hardships of the period, the
determination of the townspeople to press ahead with fund
1 KS, 28th May 1927 2 ibid 3 Ibid
21 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
raising for the Monument shows how important it was as a
symbol of mourning for them. Although Kilmarnock War
Memorial took almost ten years to complete, the end result
was one that the people of the town, and those on the War
Memorial Committee were proud of. It has stood solemnly
since, having been looked after by the Town Councils of
Kilmarnock as was intended.
22 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
The Sad Case of Hugh Ross, vintner in Ballantrae
By Jane Jamieson
Dr James Paterson’s report1 into the conditions
prevalent in Ayr Tollbooth in 1812 makes for grim reading.
He comments not only on the fabric of the prison and on
the staff but also on the two inmates present at the time of
his inspection in April 1812. One was Hugh Ross, late
vintner in Ballantrae. He was confined on suspicion of
stealing a box with money in it from a carrier in Ballantrae.
Paterson states that Ross had applied to the Lord Advocate
to set a date for his trial.
According to the warding and liberations book for
Ayr Tollbooth,2 Ross had been imprisoned for the theft of
banknotes and other valuable papers from a box on one of
the carts of David Smith, carrier in Ayr who was
transporting the box from the agent of the Paisley Banking
Company3 in Stranraer to Ayr. Smith stopped overnight at
Ross’s' inn but did not check the contents of the box until
he got to Ayr when he discovered that they were missing.
According to the papers – The Caledonian Mercury and the
British Chronicle4 - the theft involved £1630 notes of the
British Linen Bank, the Bank of Scotland and Ayr and
Paisley Banks. The imprisonment occurred on a warrant
issued at the instance of Adam Keir, cashier of the Paisley
Banking Company. Ross was not brought to trial on this
occasion as he raised and executed Letters of Intimation
under the Criminals Act of 1701 charging the Lord
Advocate and the parties concerned to fix a diet for his trial
within 60 days. When this failed to happen Ross was
1 National Records of Scotland GD142/47 Report on Air prison
and the situation of the prisoners, 14th April 1812 2 Ayrshire Archives, B6/15/13 3 The Paisley Banking Company was absorbed into the British
Linen Bank in 1837. 4 British Newspaper Archive accessed May 2013
23 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
released in November 1812 under Letters of Liberation.1
Ross then apparently tried to sue the bank for wrongful
imprisonment2 and according to the papers was successful.
The British Chronicle has a more in-depth report
on the case.3 McKie, the agent for the Paisley Banking
Company was accustomed to send weekly by carrier a
small tin box from Stranraer to Ayr. This box on this
occasion contained notes of the British Linen Bank, the
Bank of Scotland, Ayr Bank and the Paisley Bank. All
these notes were marked in the left hand corner on the back
with a private mark and were scheduled for destruction.
Subsequently several of these notes with the marks
obliterated turned up in a hatter’s shop at Wigton in
Cumberland and in a post office account in Belfast under
the name of a Mr Christian. In the later trial of 1818, the
prosecution were to try to prove that Hugh Ross and Mr
Christian were one and the same.
The Paisley Banking Company used J and S
Smith, carriers in Ayr for transporting their financial
material from Stranraer to Ayr fairly regularly and David
Smith stopped for the night at Ballantrae. The cart was
guarded by a dog. However, Smith had also stopped at
several places along the road before Ballantrae although he
did not check the contents of the box until he reached Ayr.
It was not the first incident to occur concerning the box.
Smith had left it once before at a house by mistake and Mr
Morland, one of the agents of the bank in Stranraer had had
to retrieve it.
Banks never like losing money and in 1818 they
obtained new criminal letters on the same charge and Ross
was rearrested and tried before the High Court in
1 National Records of Scotland JC27/124 2 The papers for this have not survived but there is evidence of the
case in National Records of Scotland CS239/12880 which is an
inventory of the process. It is possible that with the later counter
case the papers were borrowed for this action and never returned. 3 British News Paper Archive accessed May 2013
24 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Edinburgh having been imprisoned in the Edinburgh
Tollbooth in August of that year. Due to an unsuccessful
but serious attempt to end his own life, his trial was
adjourned from August to November 1818 (contrary to the
terms of the Criminals Act which stipulated that the trial
should take place within 40 days of confinement). He had
attempted to cut his throat and on his subsequent
appearance before the court in November 1818, he could
not speak and had to resort to writing down his plea of not
guilty. The charges before the High Court of Justiciary in
Edinburgh against him were found not proven by a
plurality of votes in December 1818.
His throat injury proved to be serious and he was
under the care of Drs Gall and Sibbald who were
instructing him on feeding himself via a silver tube inserted
in his throat. This mechanism was also allowing him to
breathe as he had severed his windpipe.
Ross’s earlier history is an interesting one. This
was not his first court appearance as he had several civil
suits against him for debt. In 1798, aged 16 or 17, he
obtained a sub-tack from James Sloan, vintner in Ayr and
John McCrorie, vintner in Kirkoswald of a tack which they
themselves had obtained for 21 years from Sir Hew
Dalymple with entry from Martinmas 1798.1 This tack
included the inn, house and stable at Ballantrae with a
small park and acre of land with large barn at the foot of
Port Kelly Brae and the lands of Lagganholm Farm with
the farm and tollhouse stretching to the Water of Stinchar.2
1 This tack was probably one granted to Thomas McKissock,
vintner in Ballantrae of public house at Ballantrae with the stable,
byre and barn and the old walled steading at the south end of the
house with the gardens belonging thereto and the little three acre
park with an acre of land in the lands of Ballantrae in virtue of a
tack granted by the late John Dalrymple of Bargany dated 10th Jan
1791 and which was renounced by McKissock in 1798 (National
Records of Scotland GD109/3756) 2 National Records of Scotland CS234/12/107
25 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
In the sub-tack Hugh Ross is described as son of Mrs Ross,
vintner in Girvan;1 his father had died in 1787 and left a
reasonable sum of money although due to his intestacy it is
the inventory and his testament dative which survives.2
After obtaining this sub-tack in Ballantrae, Ross
gave the inn in a further sub-tack to William McIlraith and
lived for a while in the farm of Lagganholm before again
sub-tacking that to Gilbert McKenna.3 William McIlraith
died sometime before 1808 and Hugh married his widow,
Agnes McIlraith and presumably moved back into the inn
at Ballantrae.4 In 1808 Sloan and McCrorie held that Ross
owed them back rent for the tack and discontinued it. This
affected McKenna’s holding of the farm of Lagganholm5
1 He was baptised on 16th November 1781, lawful son of William
Ross, innkeeper, Newton of Girvan, and his wife, Janet
Lymburner. (ScotlandsPeople OPR Births 594/00 0000 0050
Girvan) 2 National Records of Scotland CC9/7/73. His widow was Janet
Lymburn and she seems to have carried on the business in Girvan.
She is assessed for window tax in 1789 and is described as Mrs
Ross, innkeeper in Girvan (National Records of Scotland
E326/1/16/3). William Ross was assessed for two carriage horses
in 1785-86 and is described as innkeeper in Girvan E326/8/1/14)
just before his death 3 Interestingly under the terms of the tack McKenna was to keep
the farmhouse in thatch and the tack also included the tollhouse 4 He is described in his brother William’s testament dative in 1808
as Hugh Ross in Lagganholm (National Records of Scotland
CC9/7/79/571-574 5 Laggan Holm Farm is shown on the Ordnance Survey 25 inch
first edition c1850 as lying south of the Stinchar Water on the
Girvan road. The tollhouse is just north of the Ballantrae Bridge.
Further along the street is the Dryman’s Inn which could have
been the inn which Hugh Ross leased. The ordnance survey book
describes Lagganholm as follows ‘on east side of Ballantrae-
Stranraer road. A few houses consisting of three tenements and a
smithy built of lime and stone one storey high and in good repair
he property of Charles McGibbon, Edinburgh’ reference National
Records of Scotland OS1/3/6/1 Ordnance Survey Books. OS1/3/7
26 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
since he leased it from Ross and McKenna brought an
action against Ross for damages before the Court of
Session. There was also a diligence brought by Williamson
and McLachlan, merchants in Ayr against Agnes McIlraith
and her husband, Hugh Ross in 1812 for non payment of
accounts.1 This may relate to the time before William
McIlraith’s death since their principal complaint seems to
have been against her. There was also a summons before
the Court of Session by McLellan Dunbar and Company,
coachbuilders in Glasgow against Margaret (wrongly given
instead of Agnes) McIlraith, wife of Hugh Ross for a debt
of £93 on 20th
November 1813. This was owed for work
done on a chaise, for which the bill had not been paid.2
Further diligence was obtained by Thomas McCord, farmer
in Kinwinnell on 15th
June 1815.3 McCord took out an
inhibition against Hugh and Agnes for £163 10s of rent
arrears due by them to John and Hugh McWhirter in Balig
following on a bond of caution by Hugh and Agnes in their
favour.4 This had added interest and damages of £150.
It has not been possible to trace what happened to
Hugh Ross after his trial in 1818 but by 1855 the inn at
Ballantrae was tenanted by William Drinnan and was
called Drynan’s Inn.5 Pigot’s Directory of 1837 does not
mention Ross either although it does list the two inns. It is
possible that Ross did not survive long after the trial due to
the severity of his injuries.
describes Ballantrae itself as having 2 inns and 3 smaller public
houses in 1857. McKenna appears to have been successful in
keeping his tenancy. He is described as in Lagganholm and acting
as baillie for Sir Hew Dalrymple in 1817 in a disposition to
Hunter and Company (NRS RS3/1068 folio 139) 1 National Records of Scotland DI25/32/125 2 National Records of Scotland CS38/10/78 3 National Records of Scotland DI25/32/126 4 National Records of Scotland DI25/33/234 5 National Library of Scotland online ordnance survey maps 1st
edition sheet LXV.12
27 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
From Dalry to the Faeroes: William Gibson Sloan
By Óli Jacobsen1
The 175th anniversary of the birth of William
Gibson Sloan fell on 4th
September 2013. He was born in
Dalry, in North Ayrshire, in Scotland, but it was in the
Faeroes where he had great influence on religious life and,
consequently, on Faeroese society. Sloan was the
instigator of the Brethren movement in the Faeroe Islands,
and by the time of his death in 1914, as a white-bearded,
patriarchal figure, was known there as ‘Gamli Sloan’, ‘Old
Sloan’. While the Brethren play only a negligible role in
public life in most countries, in the Faeroes they are the
largest Christian group outside the established church and
the movement has had substantial influence in the
archipelago.2 To commemorate the anniversary of Sloan’s
birth, a large party of Faeroese went to Dalry on the day,
where they visited his birthplace and had a short
commemorative service in the town’s North Street Gospel
Hall.3
D. J. Danielsen (‘Dollin’)4 wrote about the family
that the Sloans ‘were of Scottish origin but fled to Ireland
during the reign of the Stuarts. Many of his relatives are
famous men within medical science in Scotland.’
William’s parents were Elisabeth and Nathanael Sloan. His
1 This article is taken from [Óli Jacobsen], ‘Gamli Sloan 175 ár’,
Fríggjadagur, 9th August 2013, 18–19; [idem], ‘175 ára
føðingardagurin hjá William G. Sloan’, Fríggjadagur, 27th
September 2013, 60–1; translation is by Tórður Jóansson with
additional editorial material by Neil Dickson 2 Cf. Tórður Jóansson, Brethren in the Faroes (Tórshavn, 2012) 3 The Faeroese were on a tour of Scotland from 2nd to 6th
September
4 For Danielsen, cf. Óli Jacobsen, Dollin: Havnarmaðurin, sum broytti heimssøguna (Tórshavn, 2010); idem, ‘Daniel J. Danielsen (1871–1916): The Faeroese who Changed History in the Congo’, BHR, 8 (2012), 10–42
28 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
father was a handloom weaver, and William was born in
the family cottage at Bridgend of Rye.1 They were
members of the Church of Scotland, and William was
baptised by the parish minister on the 16th
September 1838
in the family home.2 William almost died in childhood.
He was playing on the riverbank of the Rye Water which
runs close to the family cottage, when he fell into the water
which has steep banks and deep pools. Nobody was
present and he could just as well have drowned. But he had
a fortunate escape, because Margaret Reid, the daughter of
a farmer, had seen the accident through a window, and she
succeeded in rescuing the drowning boy before he
disappeared for the last time. Margaret Reid later married
William Wylie, a tube manufacturer in Glasgow, and he
built Doggartland House, on the banks of the Rye, for his
new wife.3 On a visit in Dalry later in life, Sloan was
happy to be able to thank the now elderly lady for saving
his life.
1 A cottage of the type lived in by handloom weavers still stands
on the spot where Sloan was born. In all probability it is the
original building, but if not, then it is a replacement of the same
type, although much altered since the nineteenth century, having
been made into one house (from 2–3 dwelling places), re-roofed
and the walls harled: architectural notes by Rob Close, 4 Sept.
2013 2 Fred Kelling, Fisherman of Faroe: William Gibson Sloan (Gøta,
Faeroe Isles, 1993), 43 3 Rob Close, e-mail, 10 Aug. 2013. After Mrs Wylie’s death in
1913, the house was bought c.1917/8 by William Tytler, a
Glasgow businessman and a Brethren member. Tytler owned
well-known tearooms in Glasgow. When he died in 1930, the
house and business passed to his daughters, the Misses Tytler,
who owned it until after World War II. Doggartland House was
therefore used in the early twentieth century for providing
hospitality to preachers visiting the assembly in Dalry, which had
been founded in 1864 (after Sloan had left the town), and a field
behind the house was used by the assembly for the annual Sunday
school outing
29 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
As a young man, William liked dancing. He was
also good at playing the violin and he also played at
dances. William, however, had an evangelical conversion.
At the time of this event he was working in Coatbridge as a
store manager for Baird and Company, the ironmasters.
Part of his duties was to sell alcoholic drink, but as this was
now against his conscience, he resigned, and eventually
obtained work as a salesman of Christian books. It was in
this connection that he went to Shetland where he joined
the Brethren as one of the founder members of Shetland’s
first assembly in 1864.1 Here he also became aware of the
Faeroes, writing in his diary on 28th
May 1865: “I have
become very interested in the Faeroe Islands. I have heard
that around 6,000 people live there and 700 Shetlanders
fish there during the summer, also French and English, so
that around 1,000 foreigners go ashore there each year.’ He
thought that there was a need for spiritual work in the
islands: ‘Therefore I feel an urge and am willing to go
there to work in God’s name and strength. So with the
Lord’s help I decide to go the Faeroes and preach Jesus.’2
A problem was that he was engaged to be married.
However, the girl did not like his plans, so the engagement
came to nothing.3
Equipped with some Danish Bibles, a Danish
grammar, an English-Danish dictionary and a letter of
recommendation from a Shetland businessman to H. C.
1 [George Peterson], A Century of Witness in Ebenezer Hall,
Lerwick 1885–1985 (Lerwick, 1985), 1. The Brethren in Dalry
also began in 1864, but it would appear that the founding of the
Brethren in Lerwick and in Dalry were unrelated, although Sloan
later visited and was friends with Samuel Dodds, the founder of
the Dalry congregation 2 Private collection, diaries of W. G. Sloan, MSS. A digital copy
of these diaries is in the Christian Brethren Archive, University of
Manchester Library 3 Sigurd Berghamar, ...men Gud gav vökst: um William Sloan
og fyrstu samkomurnar (Afturljóð, Faeroe Isles, 1992)
30 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Muller, the sheriff of Streymoy, Sloan went on a smack
from the small island of Papa Stour in Shetland to the
Faeroes. Arriving in Tórshavn on a miserable and rainy
day, Sloan was ferried ashore. The town consisted of only
170 poorly built houses, and Sloan, then aged 27, almost
lost interest, became depressed and got the feeling that he
could not carry out his plans in such a place. He did not
understand the language, and it seemed as if rain and wind,
houses and sheds, the nature and environment surrounded
him with darkness and felt inhospitable.
On the first day he got whale-meat and blubber for
dinner at Madam Olsen’s, later the Hotel Djurhuus.1
However, most of the time he stayed with the book-binder
H. N. Jacobsen, who could speak English, and this
undoubtedly helped him with his work. Sloan was very
popular with children who gathered around him wherever
he went. He sang for them, put his hand on their heads and
said: “Believe in Jesus” in Danish. His main problem was
the language. The people spoke the native Faeroese which
is descended from Old Norse and is akin to West
Norwegian dialects, but everyone learned Danish in school.
It was in this last language he tried to speak, although in the
beginning, as he later admitted, his Danish was very poor.
Sloan travelled between Scotland and the Faeroes
the following summers until he settled down in Tórshavn in
the late 1870s. It was often difficult for him to travel
around the islands, visiting villages. He could arrive at a
village, tired, hungry and wet only to learn that nobody
would put him up. Sometimes he had to stay in outhouses,
and occasionally this quiet and nice man was chased by
farmers’ dogs. At an open-air meeting somebody threw a
dead cat which hit him on his chin. Sloan just put the cat
down and said, “Don’t treat the cat badly.”
Sloan continued working for fourteen years
without seeing any growth in adherents. But on Sunday
1 This historic timber house is is now called Áarstova and is
owned by a daughter of Petur Háberg (see fn.2, p.37)
31 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
morning 31st October 1880 his Faeroese friend Andreas
Isaksen (Dia í Geil) was baptised in the sea in Tórshavn.
This was arranged early in the morning so the townspeople
should not get upset. But men in the town were early
risers, so soon the baptism became a sensation which led to
much anger and hysteria in Tórshavn. To be re-baptised
was regarded as treason against the faith of the ancestors
and was seen as an extremely bad thing. A couple of days
later a man threw a deadly agricultural tool at Dia but did
not hit him. However, Dia was slightly disabled and easily
got angry and he was often bullied, not least after the
baptism.
Around this time the movement got a hall, built in
1879. The plot was bought from the council for 216 krone;
and in the deed it says that the plot is for ‘an assembly hall
for the worship of God and the announcement of the
Gospel and serving those who attached to this work.’
Apart from some British Brethren present in the Faeroes,
the brothers Djóni and Andreas, Dia í Geil signed the deed
as witnesses. This demonstrates the tolerance of Djóni who
belonged to the established Lutheran church.
The building measured 6.3 x 9.6 metres. Sloan
lived upstairs and had a small kitchen and a sitting-room
downstairs. The rest of the ground floor was a hall. Sloan
called the house ‘The Hall at Tinghúsvegur’, but most
people called it ‘Sloan’s Hall’. Here the first Sunday
School in the Faeroes was held. The hall was also used for
other purposes such as abstinence meetings.1. Soon the hall
was too small, and a new hall, Ebenezer, was erected in
1906. Then Sloan’s Hall was taken over by Tórshavn’s
Club and used for other purposes.2
On the whole Sloan was a respected and popular
man. A visitor from Denmark explained that when he
1 Sloan’s brother-in-law, Djóni í Geil, was the founder of the
Tórshavn Abstinence Association 2 The Faeroese National Anthem was first performed in Sloan’s
Hall (the name had been retained) on Boxing Day 1907.
32 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
arrived in Tórshavn, he was received by “Missioner Sloan,
an old Scot, who has been an integral part of the town for a
long time and is regarded as a Pater Familias and a central
person in the environment. Sloan has excellent eye-sight
and this showed when suddenly he shouted ‘Grindaboð!
Grindaboð!’ (‘Whales in sight’). The whole town comes to
life. Sloan, who knows that the first one who sees the
whales gets the head of the biggest whale, shouts so that
everybody hears him. His Faeroese language becomes
mixed with English but the ‘Grindaboð was
understandable!”1
Another Dane, Godtfred Petersen, concluded, after
a visit to the Faeroes, that “Mr Sloan has been able to be
accepted by the people. Everywhere he is welcomed in a
friendly way. He greets people in a courteous way, he
holds out his hand, greets the children, asks how the
husband, away on a fishing trip, is, comforts a mother who
has lost her child, implores an old man to turn to God,
encourages a blind woman to look forward to heaven and
asks the children to take care of their younger siblings.”2
A story has been told about Sloan on a visit to the
village of Gøta. The house á Dunganum at South Gøta
used to offer accommodation for guests. One day it so
1 ‘Grindaboð’ is the Faeroese term for the whale-drive in which
a school of whales is driven by boats to the head of a bay or fjord
where they are slaughtered by the menfolk. The meat is then
divided up by the locals according to strict and traditional rules. In
earlier times it was an indispensable supplement to the Faeroese
diet. Among Brethren, even the breaking of bread would be
stopped for it as the whales’ appearance was regarded as God’s
gift. 2 Petur Háberg, Frá penni Petur Hábergs, 2 vols (Gøta, Faeroe
Isles, 2007), vol. 1, 21–62. These volumes are a collection of
articles which Petur Háberg wrote, including different ones about
Sloan. Petur Háberg was a leading member of the Brethren. His
full name was Petur William. His mother was a niece of Sloan’s
wife, Elspa. As he was born a few days before the death of Sloan,
Petur was named after him
33 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
happened that both Sloan and the Lutheran Dean, the
principal clergyman of the State Church in the Islands,
asked for bed and breakfast. Only one bed was available,
so the only solution was that both of them should share the
same bed. Both were tolerant men, and thus they shared it.
That this must have been slightly uncomfortable is another
matter!
The second person baptised by Sloan was Dia’s
sister, Elspa. It is said that her father, Poul í Geil, was not
pleased with this and he said that the two were going to
make the nails for his coffin. However, his anger did not
last long. William G. Sloan and Elspa married on 11th
October 1881. He was nineteen years her senior. They
were married in the assembly in Motherwell in Scotland
because in the Faeroes only the Lutheran Church could
perform marriages. Elspa was known as a lively and well
spoken woman who had acted in the local theatre to great
acclaim, for example from the Lutheran Dean, V. U.
Hammershaimb.1 Elspa and William had six children.
Andrew, who later became an evangelist in the Islands, is
the only one who has from second to sixth descendents still
living in the Faeroes, and one his four children, Kristina,
now an elderly woman of advanced years, was able to
attend the commemorative event of her grandfather’s birth
in Dalry.2 In his address at the memorial service the
Faeroese Brethren evangelist, Svenning av Lofti,
recollected some stories still told in the Faeroes, of ‘Old
Sloan’. Among them, was the following:
‘One day I had been at a morning service in my
home assembly, Ebenezer in Tórshavn. I was walking with
1 Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb (1819–1909) established the
modern orthography of Faeroese, <http://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Venceslaus_Ulricus_Hammershaimb>
accessed October 2013 2 William and Elspa Sloan’s children were: Poul (1882–1953),
Anna Elisabeth, called Betty (1885–1938), Elisabeth (1887–?),
Archibald (1890–?), Ketty (1892–1968) and Andrew (1896–1973)
34 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
an elderly man called Palli á Lava. He was about 90 years
of age. That morning he told me this story: “In my
childhood I lived close to Mr. Sloan’s house. As we boys
were playing football, it happened that the ball went over
the fence into Mr. Sloan’s garden, which was a beautiful
garden. The first time I had to go into his garden, over the
fence, I was not sure what would happen. Will this man be
angry? When I stood there I met William Gibson Sloan.
He smiled, put his hand on my head, saying: “Believe in
Jesus!” I took my ball and walked out of the garden. Since
that moment I never forgot Mr. Sloan. Still today I feel his
blessed hand on my head and can still remember his words:
“Believe in Jesus!”’
A few years after this occurrence, Mr. Sloan
suddenly got sick and passed away after a few days. At the
funeral service in Ebenezer people saw a little boy make
his way forward and lay fresh flowers on Mr. Sloan’s
coffin. The boy was Palli á Lava. He had gotten flowers
from his mother and went to the funeral to pay his old
friend the last honour, this man who had made such a great
impact on the life of this little boy.1
Sloan died on his seventy-sixth birthday on 4th
September 1914. He had become weak. It has been said
that the fact that Britain had entered the First World War a
month previously worried Sloan considerably. Tributes
came from outside the Brethren movement. In 1965, on the
centenary of Sloan’s first arrival in the Islands, William
Heinesen, widely considered to be one of the greatest
Scandinavian writers of the twentieth century and the most
celebrated Faeroese novelist, paid homage to him in a radio
talk.2 The Heinesen family had lived next door to the
1 Svenning av Lofti, ‘William Gibson Sloan’, address given in
North St. Gospel Hall, Dalry, 4th September. 2013 2 The attribution of Scottishness to J. S. Mill might seem
surprising, for it was Mill’s father who was a native Scot;
however, Heinesen may be using poetic licence to make his point,
or it may due to a very Faeroese awareness of how minority
35 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Sloans in Tórshavn, and as a boy William Heinesen was a
childhood playmate of Andrew William, Sloan’s youngest
son. In the broadcast Heinesen said:
“With his white beard and pious countenance not
unlike the Scottish philosopher, John Stuart Mill, he was
for me a loveable personality as he walked about his garden
among the blossoming red currant bushes and rowan trees,
a gentle sage who knew the way of truth and life. It
happened now and again as we played in Mr. Sloan’s
garden, that this humble and friendly white-bearded and
black-clad Scottish missionary came and put his hand on
our head and said “Believe in Jesus!” This felt like a
blessing. I don’t remember ever having seen a purer soul
or a milder pair of eyes. It was obvious that this man
wholly and fully was a good and large soul, a bearer of
good news - truly an evangelist. As he stands in the garden
among leaves and flowers so many years ago and yet so
curiously vivid and alive in my memory, I want to honour
the memory of William Gibson Sloan with gratitude.”1
Kristin í Geil, who, as the editor of the
independent, and often culturally radical, Tingakrossur,
was a well-known writer in the islands,2 wrote an obituary
of Gamli Sloan in her newspaper:
ethnicity can be swallowed by that of the dominant nation.
William Heinesen (1900–1991) was a novelist, short-story writer,
artist, sculptor and composer. He wrote in Danish, and on several
occasions he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature, but
that he did not receive it is perhaps due to his own wishes. He
wrote to the committee stating he did not want the prize as he felt
that the first Nobel awarded to a Faeroese author ought to be to
one who wrote in the native language. Religious themes are
central to his work, and his five novels feature an evangelistic
group similar to the Brethren, most notably in Blæsende Gry
(1934), Eng. trans, Windswept Dawn (2009). Cf. W. Glyn Jones,
William Heinesen (New York, 1974), 24. 1 William Heinesen, quoted in Lofti, ‘William Gibson Sloan’ 2 Kristin í Geil was connected to W. G. Sloan by way of his wife,
who was Djóni í Geil’s sister, and Djóni was Kristin’s father
36 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
“The meekness and humility which characterised
Mr. Sloan’s manner and appearance won him, as time went
on, the hearts of many, although the opposition from the
[State] Church at the beginning was often quite severe. His
preaching was simple, and straightforward, as he himself
was; but it was upheld by an unshakeable faith in God and
a self-sacrificing love for his fellow-man, which
commanded everyone’s respect and made him beloved
wherever he went. As one of the very few, his life was, in
great and small circumstances, dominated by the example
which is given in the life and teaching of Jesus, the
Nazarene. Only the very few have been entitled to bear the
name of Christian with the same rights as William Sloan.”1
Ayrshire Federation of Historical Societies
Members are given advance notice that the 2014
Annual General Meeting will be held in Fairlie Village
Hall, Fairlie, at 2 p.m. on Sunday 18th
May, 2014. Member
Societies are encouraged to send representatives. Fairlie
Village Hall is an attractive Tudor Gothic building of 1892
by J.J. Stevenson, a conversion of the earlier village school.
The village’s church (1834, much enlarged by Stevenson in
1883) will also be open. It has a fine interior and a good
collection of stained glass. The John Strawhorn Quaich
will be awarded at the meeting, and we hope many of you
will be able to attend. Formal notice will be sent to
members in due course, but please now mark the date in
your diary.
1 Kristin í Geil, quoted in Kelling, Fisherman of Faroe, 234–5
37 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Another Millport / Great Barrier Reef Expedition
(1928–1929) link
By Geoff Moore
Yonge (1930) has recounted the story of the Great
Barrier Reef Expedition (1928–1929). Two scientific
members of that expedition: Sheina Macalister Marshall
(1896–1977) and Andrew Picken Orr (1898–1962) were
members of staff of the Marine Station at Millport
(Scotland). Morton (2011) has written recently about a
welcoming ‘Coral Corroboree’ that took place in Brisbane
on 19th
July 1928. In that paper he presented a photograph
(figure 5) that included inter alia one H. C. Vidgen. A
better photograph of Vidgen alone recently came to light in
Sheina Marshall’s photograph album of the expedition held
until recently in the archives at Millport’s Marine Station.1
Yonge (1930: 30) wrote appreciatively of the then
29-year old Herbert Charles ‘Carl’ Vidgen’s (b. 1900)
unexpected contributions to the expedition. He had crewed
the Luana, the expedition’s boat for the year, from
Brisbane arriving at Low Isles on 22 July bringing “two
boys who had been taken on board at Yarrabah … his
coming, totally unexpected, proved a gift of fortune. He
was later induced to ‘sign on’ as a member of the non-
scientific staff of the expedition.” He helped mightily with
the organization of the camp: “Thanks to Mr Vidgen’s
prowess with the gun, a week seldom passed without a
meal of stewed pigeon” (Yonge 1930: 38).
The only other Vidgen whom I had ever
encountered was James Grayhame Vidgen (1834–1919),
who was the organist at the Cathedral of the Isles, at
Millport between 1852 and 1865. During his last
1 With the closure of the University Marine Biological Station
Millport (UMBSM) by the University of London on 31 October
2013, the Sheina Marshall archive is being transferred to the
Scottish Association for Marine Science, Dunstaffnage, Oban
38 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
remaining bachelor days of 1857 and intermittently until
1861, he had succumbed to the Victorian craze for seaweed
collecting (Moore 2008). In 1865 James G. Vidgen had
emigrated with his wife (Emily née Norris (1828–1872))
and young family (Maud (7), Ethel (6), Margaret (3) and
John (1-year old) to Queensland, Australia, arriving at
Brisbane on the Legion of Honour on 27th
February 1866,
where their offspring grew to 12 children. One of those
Australian-born children was Arthur Richard Vidgen
(1869–1957), who was the father of Herbert Charles
Vidgen. H. C. Vidgen lived in New York at some time. He
served in the Australian army as a Lieutenant during World
War II. I wonder, however, whether he, or any of the
expedition party, ever realised that his grandfather and two
of his companions on Low Isles shared a Millport marine
biological link? No mention of such a link appears in
Yonge’s account (1930).
REFERENCES
MOORE, P. G., 2008 A 150-year old seaweed
collection returns to Cumbrae. The Glasgow naturalist
25(1): 3–8.
MORTON, B., 2011 The Great Barrier Reef
Expedition’s “Coral Corroboree”, Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia, 10 July 1928: an historical portent. Archives of
natural history 38: 88–95.
YONGE, C. M., 1930 A year on the Great
Barrier Reef. London & New York.
39 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
Rob’s Book Club
Ayrshire Echoes: People, Places & Past Times, by
John Kellie. Reviewed by Neil Dickson. I grew very fond
of this book as I read it. The author has a great love of faur-
ben places, orra events, gangrels, and Ayrshire working-
folk. As a result, the book lingered in the mind after it was
put down - a high tribute to quality, both of content and
style.
Some stories in the first two sections of the book
readers will be already familiar with, such as the Flitting of
the Sow, the Eglinton Tournament, Boswell at Auchinleck
House, and Sawney Bean. But the author brings his own
approach. The Battle of Largs is coupled with the less well-
known story of the building and dedication of the Pencil.
Sawney is coupled with the real-life, twentieth-century
hermit, Henry Torbet, aka Snib Scott, who was a
kenspeckle figure in a cave near where the legendary
Sawney was said to inhabit. In a neat twist on the killing of
the 10th
Earl of Eglinton the writer takes the side of Mungo
Campbell, the killer, against the overbearing Earl, and
convincingly shows that at the very most it was a case of
culpable homicide.
Mixed in with these better-known stories are many
more, less well-known ones and the excavation of obscure
and forgotten lives from old newspaper accounts and oral
history. Many of these will stay with me—James Young
and his murderer in 1848; Sister Laurienne and her tragic
death; Robert Cunningham, a postman who died in a
snowstorm; James Aird, Ayr’s public executioner. The
book could be read slowly and selectively, like a book of
short stories. However, I found it engrossing and read it
compulsively. I will return to it. It has breathed new life
into some older legends and tales, while bringing to light
forgotten murders, misers, events, and places: a good read
in its own right, but essential reading for anyone interested
in Ayrshire. (Carn Publishing, 2013, £10.00)
40 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
DIARY
AA Arran Antiquarians. Meetings in Brodick Public Hall,
Brodick, at 2 p.m.
AANHS Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society.
www.aanhs.org.uk Meetings in Town Hall, Ayr, at 7.45 p.m.
AMC National Trust for Scotland, Ayrshire Members Centre.
Meetings in Education Pavilion, Burns Cottage, Alloway at 7.30
p.m.
ASA Alloway & Southern Ayrshire Family History Society.
www.asafhs.co.uk Meetings in Alloway Church Halls, Alloway,
at 7.45 p.m.
BHS Beith Historical Society. Meetings in Our Lady’s Hall,
Crummock Street, Beith at 8.00 p.m.
CHS Cumbrae Historical Society. Meetings in Newton
Lounge, Newton Bar, Millport at 7 p.m.
DHS Dundonald Historical Society. Meetings in Dundonald
Castle Visitors Centre, Dundonald, at 7.30 p.m.
EAFHS East Ayrshire Family History Society.
www.eastayrshirefhs.org.uk Meetings in Kilmarnock, at 7.30 p.m.
FBC Friends of Brodick Castle. Meetings at Brodick Castle,
Brodick, at 2.30 p.m.
FHS Fullarton Historical Society. Meetings in
FHS Jt Joint Meeting of Ayrshire Family History Societies.
Alloway Church Hall, Alloway, at 7.45 p.m.
KCCS Kyle and Carrick Civic Society. Meetings in Loudoun
Hall, Ayr, at 7.30 p.m.
KDHG Kilmarnock & District History Group.
www.kilmarnockhistory.co.uk Meetings in Kilmarnock College at
7.30 p.m.
Largs Jt Joint meeting of LDHS and LNAFHS. In St Columba’s
Session House, Largs at 7.30 p.m.
LDHS Largs and District Historical Society. www.
largsmuseum. org.uk Meetings in Largs Museum at 7.30 p.m.
L(MS) LDHS, Marine Section. Meetings in Largs Museum at
7.30 p.m.
LNA Largs & North Ayrshire Family History Society.
www.largsnafhs.org.uk Meetings in Largs Library, Allanpark
Street, Largs at 7.30 p.m.
41 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
PHG Prestwick History Group. Meetings in 65 Club, Main
Street, Prestwick KA9 1JN, at 7.30 p.m.
SHS Stewarton & District Historical Society.
www.stewarton.org Meetings in John Knox Church Hall,
Stewarton, at 7.30 p.m.
SWT Scottish Wildlife Trust: Ayrshire Members’ Centre.
Meetings in The Horizon Hotel, Esplanade, Ayr KA7 1DT, at
7.30 p.m.
TAFHS Troon @ Ayrshire Family History Society.
www.troonayrshirefhs.org.uk Meetings in Portland Church Hall,
South Beach, Troon, at 7.30 p.m.
WKCS West Kilbride Civic Society. Meetings in Community
Centre, Corse Street, West Kilbride, at 7.30 p.m.
February 2014 Monday 3rd KCCS Adam Wilkinson Communities and their
Heritage in the Old and New
Towns of Edinburgh Monday 3rd SHS Mark Gibson Craigengillan
Tuesday 4th KDHG Frank Donnelly Sir Alexander Fleming Thursday 6th PHG John Hope Prestwick in the 1950s
Tuesday 11th LNA Robin Nicolson Mapping in and about Largs
Wednesday 12th DHS Bill Fitzpatrick The beloved, the Damned and the Forgotten
Thursday 13th AANHSNatasha Ferguson Treasure Trove
Tuesday 18th KDHG Tony Mulholland Lewis Fry Richardson Tuesday 18th ASA Dane Love Legendary Ayrshire
Tuesday 18th SWT Heinz Traut Conserving Red Squirrels:
How You can make a Difference
Tuesday 18th AA Nancy Anderson Covenanter Country
Thursday 20th TAFHS John Stevenson Old Ayrshire Farming Thursday 20th AMC Alistair Deaton Clyde Steamer Cruising out
of Ayr
Tuesday 25th WKCS Scott Grier Loganair Thursday 27th AANHS Geoffrey Stell Defences of the Clyde, 1914
- 1945
Thursday 27th BHS Ian Mathieson Home Front in the Great War
42 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
March 2014
Monday 3rd KCCS Gordon McDonaldRestoring Bank House, Newmilns
Monday 3rd SHS Elaine McFarland John Boyd Orr
Tuesday 4th KDHG Jim Boyd The History of the Royal College
Thursday 6th PHG members Pot Pourri
Tuesday 11th LNA Val Reillly A Woman’s Work is Never Done
Wednesday 12th DHS Frank HendersonThe History of Dreghorn
Parish Thursday 13th AANHS Catriona MacDonald
What makes a Scottish Hero
Thursday 13th EAFHS Andrew Dick Ayrshire Mining Tuesday 18th FHS Jt Frank Brown The Tall Ship at Glasgow
Tuesday 18th SWT Simon Jones Beaver Update
Tuesday 18th KDHG members Kilmarnock in the 1960s and 1970s
Tuesday 18th AA Val Reilly Coats & Clarks: The Binding-
Thread of Paisley’s History Thursday 20th AMC Jonathan Bryant Brodick Signature Project
Tuesday 25th WKCS Isabel Garrett The Hunterston Brooch
Thursday 27th BHS Kitty Walker Britannia Panopticon April 2014
Thursday 3rd PHG Alisdair Cochrane Now for Something
Completely Different
Monday 7th SHS Allan Richardson QE2
Tuesday 8th LNA Pat Emslie Greenock Cut Wednesday 9th DHS Ian Macdonald The Richmonds of Riccarton
Thursday 10th EAFHS Peter Cameron Church of Latter Day Saints
Tuesday 15th AA Carl Reavey Eating the Wildlife: Islay in the Mesolithic
Thursday 17th TAFHS members Open Forum
Thursday 17th AMC Jim Moffat An Introduction to the Bagpipes
Thursday 24th BHS Alasdair Wham Ayrshire’s Railway Heritage
May 2014
Thursday 1st PHG members Blether of 2014
Monday 12th SHS Guard Archaeology
Flodden Battlefield
Thursday 15th TAFHS Tom CunninghamBuffalo Bill’s Wild West
Show in Scotland Tuesday 20th AA David Walker Glasgow’s Hidden Treasures
June 2014
Tuesday 17th AA Ben Shepherd The German Army under the Third Reich
43 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
July 2014 Tuesday 15th AA George Geddes A Rough Guide to St Kilda
and North Rona
August 2014 Tuesday 19th AA David Donaldson “Jings Crivens Help ma Boab
My Time at D.C Thomson
September 2014 Tuesday 16th AA Stewart Gough My Obsession with Arran
Postcards
October 2014 Tuesday 21st AA Paul McAuley The Twelve Monuments
Project
November 2014 Tuesday 18th AA James Murchie Arran to Antarctica - A
Life at Sea
44 Ayrshire Notes 47, Spring 2014
University Marine Station, Millport: Stained Glass by Joanna Scott, 1983-84 (Rob Close)
From General Roy’s Great Map of Scotland (1747-1755). The road across the north west corner is that between Cumnock and Muirkirk. This name
has not been corroborated from other sources: it is understood that Roy’s
surveyors were not above creating their own names, a pastime which presumably reflected some of the conditions they must have endured.